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How To Deal With A Pessimistic Leader

Cindy Wahler is a leadership consultant specializing in executive coaching and talent management. Reach her at cwahler@cindywahler.com

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Toxic leaders take all kinds of forms, from psychopaths to narcissists. One of the most insidious personalities that derails teams is the glass-half-empty leader. These leaders run interference for change agents and at times can be viewed as blockers who are preventing the organization from moving forward.

Their out-of-the-gate orientation is to naturally seek out obstacles. There's nothing wrong with finding obstacles — we do need to anticipate and think through potentially wide-sweeping implications when organizations embark on a new path. It becomes challenging, though, when pessimists cannot see beyond problems or find creative solutions to potential risks.

This is especially relevant when leading change initiatives. Many variables need to be weighed, including the impact on the business, needed infrastructure, type of resources required, budgetary constraints and projected timelines. Of course, there will be potential negative scenarios that need to both be anticipated and planned for.

There is a difference, though, in being a realist -- which is a necessary attribute for success as a leader -- and being negative. By being a realist, you engage in due diligence, research competitive intelligence and then make a judgment call based on the best data available. A pessimist's natural orientation is to view new frameworks or change as fraught with imperfections, and they have a difficult time adopting an agile framework.

Leaders who are new to an organization or initiative generally show up brimming with optimism and great ideas for how they can make a difference. They're keen to present their vision, and they generally do so with passion. Most new leaders are hired to make a difference and seek opportunities to lead or be part of a change. It takes emotional resilience, as employees sometimes have to work against traditional ways of doing business, and it's human nature to resist change.

Leaders who are inherently pessimistic rarely see the world as full of opportunities. Pessimistic leaders are stuck in their ways. They drag everybody down. These types of leaders wreck company culture. They suck the energy and creativity out of talented leaders.

Pessimists also attract other pessimists. Misery does love company, and pessimists can create serious roadblocks. They prevent initiatives from getting off the ground, delay timelines and speak poorly on behalf of others, which undermines talented leaders’ credibility.

So what's an organization to do? As part of the interview process, almost every candidate exudes energy and positivity. So it’s tough to weed out these downers at the time of hire. We certainly can be blindsided.

Most often, these leaders get ignored. When I ask executives why this is the case, they often say, “Well, it's just one person on my team amongst a majority of very talented team members.”

What is not visible until much later is the behind-the-scenes sabotaging that's taking place. Pessimists have a mindset that generally is intractable. Despite being challenged by their colleagues, they have a difficult time accepting creative solutions to problems. Equally important, pessimists often see no point in taking risks, as they predict negative outcomes. Pessimists cannot see that the future is built on risks. Unfortunately, heavy lifting is required to set the course right and reenergize the team.

It's possible, though, to make a wholesale change. I offer this one and only piece of advice that an executive must act on: Like a brilliant surgeon with the tools of their trade, a great leader must perform a surgical intervention. Removing that pessimistic leader from your team is the right proactive intervention to preserve and restore the health of your team. This will reinvigorate your high-performing team with renewed energy and passion. As a leader, you will have brought back the art of the possible.